Is Art therapy the best form of psychotherapy?

Art Therapy is a subject which has come up on numerous occasions with our clients over the years.   There is something infinitely alluring about the light and space provided by the ‘Rotunda Roundhouse’ to those of us who are healers, artists, seekers, holistic lifestyle advocates and energy workers.

The vast majority of Rotunda Roundhouses currently installed in gardens all over the UK are used for therapy.    Perhaps it’s the nurturing form of the round, swept around it’s occupants like a warm embrace which provides the perfect ‘healing circle’?  Or could it be that the lack of corners reduces the opportunity for negative chi to collect in the corners which (as we all know) serve no useful purpose?  Could it be the link to our ancient ancestors – this could certainly be the case for Reiki? Or is it the amplification of energy in the round, acting like a drum – which assists our therapists with their work?  I suppose we’ll never know; but we do know how it ‘feels’! Positive, uplifting & energetic.

Over the years, we’ve come to appreciate that there is without doubt a beautiful connection between the Rotunda and it’s owner, unlike an inanimate object or a monolithic & unnatural box, the warm, gentle, positive energy of the Roundhouse reflects that of the care and attention to detail spent on it’s construction and the adoration and wonder it receives from all who have the pleasure of making use of it.

Of the forms of therapy we have come across in our line of work, the following have been the most prevalent:

• Psychotherapy
• Art Therapy
• Sandplay Therapy
• Reflexology
• Hypnotherapy
• Horticultural Therapy
• Alexander technique meditation
• Encaustic Art Therapy
• Music Therapy
• Reiki
• Qi Gong / Five Rythms Dancing / Yoga / Meditation
• Three Principles  (teachings of Sydney Banks) counselling

…. And the list goes on! Of course, all forms of therapy are useful and depending on the issue one wishes to focus on – any of the above can be utilised to raise mood, dispel old habits and assist with the release of trauma.

But you needn’t have to visit a counsellor to make yourself feel better.  Art Therapy is an amazing way to overcome depression, anxiety and trauma.  Any one of us can use art therapy as a healing technique and allow ourselves to use creativity to boost dopamine levels.   It’s visible within the  rise in popularity of “art therapy” adult colouring books as discussed in this article “Why Grown Ups Love Colouring Books Too”

Positive psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (TED Talk: Flow, the Secret to Happiness) helps fill in the lines. “What makes a life worth living?” Noting that money cannot make us happy, he looks to those who find pleasure and lasting satisfaction in activities that bring about a state of “flow.”

Art Therapy (any form of art) can be a massive contributing factor when it comes to creating that flow and subsequently. boosting personal happiness levels.  According to Lisa Mitchell, author of ‘Creativity as Co-Therapist’, when creating art “with no planned outcome – letting the artwork flow and allowing the art to take it’s own form we’re using what scientists call “The default network” which is the brains mental ‘play-space’; the imaginal world that is so essential to healing because it’s where we can form new possibilities… we find new ways to solutions. When you are in the space of painting where it is unplanned and you allow it to be unplanned you’re activating the part of your brain which will automatically allow you to come up with new possibilities. Healing is about that. Finding new ways”  Art Therapy!

She goes on to add that “….there are studies that tell us that even when we make mistakes, when we perceive that we’ve failed that default network gives us the neurotransmitters in our brain the “feel good stuff” dopamine, serotonin, even when we’re doing a painting, and we make a mistake; we get those feel good chemicals in our brain. So, it doesn’t matter what you ‘think’ of your painting, it just matters that you’re ‘doing’ your painting.”   Her video is linked here:   Lisa Mitchell MFT, ATR, is the author Creativity as Co-Therapist: The Practitioner’s Guide to the Art of Psychotherapy.

So, if you’re a therapist, and you’re looking for a new space to facilitate your practice, please do get in touch. We are certain that the round is the ultimate healing space for you!

Until then, enjoy the sunshine! (if you have it!) the Rotunda team x